


A Mess

by PeterStark



Series: Marked by Fate [11]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Canon-Typical Violence, Eddie Survives though, Hurt Barry Allen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Oliver Queen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I literally flipped a coin for that, I mess with it more than Barry does, League of Assassins Oliver Queen, M/M, No Beta, Oliver Queen Needs a Hug, Protective Oliver Queen, Ronnie doesn't, Sharing Pain, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Timeline What Timeline, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26890429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterStark/pseuds/PeterStark
Summary: Life was a mess. Starling was a mess. Central City was a mess. The smoke hadn't settled, not anywhere.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen
Series: Marked by Fate [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564228
Comments: 3
Kudos: 123





	A Mess

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I like to hurt characters? I don't know. Don't ask. Mind the tags.  
> I own nothing.

It hadn't been pleasant. But Oliver had enlisted help. When he'd gone to Ray, he made it very clear that if Ray ever used this against Barry he'd kill Ray without an ounce of remorse. Barry hadn't been happy about that. But Barry had volunteered to help with tests. Oliver hadn't liked it, but between Barry, Felicity, and Ray, they'd come up with something that might help slow a speedster down, at least, long enough to capture them. This had become an important plan when Barry'd started seeing the man in yellow. Oliver hoped it would slow that monster down.

"Wow, you've brought yourself a friend." Wells smirked as the man on fire landed. God, Central City was weird. Oliver made his way down to Barry's side. Wells laughed gleefully. "Welcome, Mr. Queen."

"Hope we're not too late." He spoke to Barry.

"You're just in time. Thank you." Barry whispered that last part to Oliver directly. "I don't care how fast you are, you can't fight all three of us at once."

Wells looked confident, too confident.

Oliver didn't like it at all.

Wells took a step forward. "Oh 'I can't'?" He laughed, unrestrained. "You know, I thought I hit the jackpot, Barry. Thought I'd ruined everything for you. I thought it would be the greatest pleasure of my life to kill your mother, to watch your father burn for it. I thought that would be brilliant. But who knew?" His face darkened as he leered at Oliver. "Who knew it'd afford me the chance to kill your soulmate in front of your eyes? That, Barry, is going to be my absolute pleasure. You shouldn't have invited him here."

Barry went stiff, rigid.

Oliver didn't so much as twitch. So Wells knew. It didn't make a difference. The fight was still going to be to the death. Oliver had known that. Wells needed Barry for something, he didn't need Oliver or Ronnie. Nothing had changed in Oliver's eyes. "He'll lose." Oliver whispered, only for Barry. "We have him. Stick to the plan." Oliver wished his words could help more. But he saw Barry's jaw go tense with determination, his shoulders squared up.

"Trust me. This is going to be fun." Wells lifted his hand.

Oliver lifted his bow as the speedsters blurred into movement. He could feel it in his soulmark, every time Barry's body passed in front of him. It was like a warning, a tug that told him he could hurt his soulmate. "Move, Barry." He just needed one shot, that's all. They just needed the Reverse Flash distracted, really. They could do this. The man in yellow eventually overtook Barry. "Shit." Oliver whispered, feeling the ache in his wrist when Barry's back hit the fence, hard.

When Ronnie was shoved away by a gust of wind, Oliver saw how wide Barry's eyes were, how much he wanted to go help and how afraid he was to leave Oliver alone.

Oliver shot the man in yellow and nodded to Barry. "Go!"

Barry took off. 

He fought against the Wells, but damn, even without the speed, the man was good. He'd prepared for this, to fight without his powers. Oliver learned very quickly not to underestimate him. It was starting to turn in Oliver's favor, then Wells vibrated. Was he phasing the nanites out of his system? Shit! Oliver didn't get the chance to guard, because the speedster was back at full speed and pinning him down.

Wells held him down and grinned. "Oliver Queen...you have no idea what a pleasure this will be. I want to see the color fade from his throat...hear him scream. Have to admit, in the original timeline he had never met you. It's beautiful, that I can make him endure the greatest pain. Do you think he'll beg me to kill him in the end?"

Oliver struggled and damn near got the speedster off of him.

"The history books said you lived to a eighty-six, Mr. Queen." Wells grinned. "They say hearing is the last to go. I wonder if your ears will work long enough to hear him scream in agony." His hand vibrated and lowered toward Oliver's chest.

"NO!" Barry's shout was full of anger and fear.

Suddenly, Oliver was free and the two were blurring away.

"You're not taking anything else from me!" Barry shouted.

Oliver breathed and pushed himself up. He grabbed his bow. He needed to be ready. They could do this, they could get this done.

-

Shit got...complicated after catching Wells. Life had to resume. And while meta humans were fucking complicated...life in Starling wasn't sunshine and rainbows. And it wasn't like Oliver could be in Starling anyway. The only upside was that Barry wasn't living in the city he was supposed to destroy. That, and the League didn't know Barry existed.

Ras walked forward and lifted a fire iron and prodded the fire, digging the metal deep into the coals. "You are Al Sah-him."

"Yes." Oliver answered.

"Oliver Queen is dead, and yet, part of him remains." Ras stared at the fire, at the iron that was slowly starting to glow.

"There is no Oliver Queen." Oliver responded. "He is dead."

"I'm not so sure. Kneel." Ras ordered.

Oliver did as he was told, he had to, if he was going to keep this up. His eyes strayed to the iron, wondering what it was about.

"Offer your right arm."

Oliver's chest hurt. His heart squeezed, pressing hard against his ribs. His breath picked up, out of his control. He squeezed his hand tight. No. He couldn't do this. Not this.

"Ah...I see. Oliver Queen is still alive, if only for that one thing. I saw it, when I stabbed you on that mountain top. I even said a prayer for the sake of your soulmate. But...as long as you cling to that Mark, part of Oliver Queen will remain. Are you Al Sah-him?"

Oliver's jaw flexed. He couldn't do this. He couldn't.

"I understand. This is...difficult. We don't usually take those who have soulmates for this reason. But you will be Al Sah-Him." Ras said, calmly, sure.

Oliver moved to jump to his feet, but six men grabbed him and held him down. Three hands grabbed his right arm. "No. NO!" Oliver fought. He wrenched his arm free and broke one man's nose with his elbow. Oliver wasn't above doing whatever it took, of staining his soul until it was darker than night, but they couldn't do this. They couldn't touch the Mark Barry left. No. That Mark was sunshine, it was part of Barry's soul. He didn't give a damn what happened to his own soul, but he would fight for Barry's soul.

"Hold out his arm."

"NO!" Oliver struggled and fought, but, eventually, they turned his arm over and held it out parallel to the ground. A hand yanked his sleeve back.

"You cannot become Al Sah-him, not with that Mark on you." Ras turned and lifted the poker. He walked forward and examined the Mark. "Kind hands made that Mark."

Oliver struggled, tears in his eyes.

"We try not to have those with soulmates." Ras looked at him with pity and pulled his collar to the side with his free hand. On his shoulder a burn, likely over where he'd had his own Mark. "You must let go of all that was Oliver Queen."

"Don't." Tears ran hot down Oliver's face.

"I'm sorry, son. It is a beautiful Mark. Gaze upon it one last time, if you must. Then you must let go of Oliver Queen."

Two, red, beautiful fingermarks, a Mark painted on his skin, one made by Barry, by a man who always reached out to fix and heal first.

The red-hot poker was press down on the Mark with no mercy. The sizzle of burning flesh filled the air. The smell of cooking meat assaulted Oliver's nostrils.

Oliver screamed.

-

Barry woke with a scream. Everything hurt, like his whole body was on fire. His voice broke, but he couldn't stop screaming.

"Barry?" Joe's voice was panicked. "What is it? Barry?!" He ran forward and pulled Barry into his arm. "Son, what is it?"

Barry's back arched as he still screamed in pain. Sweat dewed his skin. It was hot, so hot. Like fire. "O-Ollie."

"Shit... Hang in there, kid. I'll see if I can get you to Caitlin."

Barry didn't want that. He didn't want to see anyone after the singularity. What with Eddie in the hospital and Ronnie...dead. It was too much. But maybe seeing a doctor would be good. His whole body was on fire.

Then it stopped. Just stopped.

Barry's chest heaved as he gathered his breath. "Ah." He turned his arm over and looked down. There was a burn mark on his right wrist, in the same place he'd left his Mark on Oliver's wrist. "What the hell?"

"Shit." Joe seemed to know then and there, exactly what had happened.

Someone was torturing Oliver. Bad enough that the scars were manifesting on Barry's skin as well. That only happened when someone defaced someone's Mark. Someone was burning the Mark.

"Ras."

"Who?" Joe asked.

"Oliver asked me for a favor. I'm guessing it's time for me to show up."

"Barry!"

Barry ran. He needed to help Oliver.

-

Life was a mess. Starling was a mess. Central City was a mess. The smoke hadn't settled, not anywhere. All Barry wanted was to hug and hold Oliver. He wanted peace and quiet away from Central. Oliver, however, didn't seem to want him in Starling either. Though, considering everything, Barry was pretty sure Oliver didn't want to be in Starling or anywhere near his friends and family either. Barry couldn't be around his friends, nor his family. He was the reason Ronnie died, the reason Eddie got hurt. He'd seen his mother die. He'd let his mother die and he'd had no one to speak to. Nothing. He knew Oliver had to be in a similar situation.

Barry looked down at his arm, where the burns had been. They were healed now. He hadn't gotten to see Oliver, to see if his Mark was mangled on his soulmate's skin.

A text came through.

Oliver:

Sorry, been cleaning up a mess. I need to see you.

Me:

I need to see you too.

Oliver:

Coast City, tomorrow morning. You available?

Me:

Yes.

Oliver:

I'll see you then.

There was an address attached and Barry let out a relieved sigh.

Me:

As you wish.

Oliver:

Is this a kissing book?

Barry laughed. He laughed for the first time since everything had gone to hell. He laughed so hard he cried. Then he just cried.

Oliver:

Are you okay?

Me:

I just really miss you.

Oliver:

I miss you too. See you soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Take care.


End file.
